indictment or information shall be tried, to find the defendant 33 G. 3, c. 43. or defendants guilty, merely on the proof of the publication by such defendant or defendants, of the paper charged to be a libel, and of the sense ascribed to the same in such indictment or information.

2. Provided always, that on every such trial the court or Judge may judge, before whom such indictment or information shall be give his opinion and ditried, shall, according to their or his discretion, give their or his rections, as in opinion and directions to the jury, on the matter in issue other crimibetween the king and the defendant or defendants, in like manner as in other criminal cases.

nal cases.

3. Provided also, that nothing herein contained shall extend, Jury may or be construed to extend, to prevent the jury from finding a find a special verdict. special verdict, in their discretion, as in other criminal cases. 4. Provided also, that in case the jury shall find the de- Defendants fendant or defendants guilty, it shall and may be lawful for the found guilty, said defendant or defendants to move in arrest of judgment, on arrest of such ground, and in such manner, as by law he or they might judgment, have done before the passing of this act, any thing herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding. (a)

(a) The affidavit lodged in the Stamp Office, by the printer or proprietor of a newspaper, pursuant to the act 23 and 24 Geo. 3. c. 28, s. 1, fante p. 191,) is evidence of his being such printer or proprietor, not only at the time of making the affidavit, but subsequently. Rex v. The Proprietors of the Northern Star.-Ir. T.R. 312,

may move in

CHAPTER III.

OFFENCES AGAINST TRADE, REVENUE, AND PUBLIC

ESTABLISHMENTS.

SECTION 1.

Offences against Public Trade.

Forestalling 25 Edw. 3. stat. 4, c. 3. Eng.—Item, It is accorded and estabof goods; lished, that the forestallers of wines, and all other victuals, forfeiture of the goods, or wares, and merchandises, that come to the good towns of Engtheir value. land, by land or by water, in damage of our lord the king, and of his people, if they be thereof attainted at the suit of the king, or of the party, before mayor, bailiff, or justices thereto assigned, or elsewhere in the king's court; and if they be attainted at the king's suit by indictment, or in other manner, the things forestalled shall be forfeited to the king, if the buyer thereof hath made gree to the seller. (2) And if he have not made gree of all, but by earnest, the buyer shall incur the forfeiture of as much as the forestalled goods forfeited do amount to, after the value as he bought them, if he have whereof. (3) And if he have not whereof, then he shall have two years' imprisonment and more at the king's will, without being let to mainprise, or delivered in other manner. (4) And if he be attainted at the suit of the party, the party shall have the one half of such things forestalled and forfeit, or the price of the king's gift, and the king the other half.

33 Hen. 8, c. 2. (a)-Forasmuch as divers merchants and other persons, coveting and practising greatly their owne singular commodities and profites, and having little or no respect to the wealth of this land, have of late used to goe from towne to towne within, this land, being no market townes, to buy hides, fells, checkers, fleges, yarne, linnen cloth, wooll and flocks, whereby the faires and markets within this land be greatly decayed, and the king's custome diminished, and every kinde of merchandise, without cause reasonable, brought to a great dearth, to the great hindrance and losse of the king's majestie, and of his

(a) Entitled, " An act for gray merchants." By section 4, this act was declared to be temporary; but, having expired, was afterwards revived and made perpetual by the 11 Eliz. c. 5.

Wherefore be it 33 H. 8, c. 2.

not to be

faithful and true subjects of the same land. &c., that no person ne persons, to the intent to sell the same againe, shall buy ne cause to be bought, within this land, any Hides, &c. hydes, fells, checkers, fleges, yarne, linnen cloth, wooll, or bought, to flocke, in any other place or places, but only in the open sell again, market or fayre and if that any person or persons doe other- save in open wise, and be of the same duely convicted, that then every such Offenders person so convicted, to be adjudged and deemed a forestaller punishable of the king's market.

market

as forestal

lers.

the Lord

may avoid

tion.

2. Provided alway, and be it enacted by authoritie aforesaid, In case of inthat if any inconvenience, dammage, or hinderance doe, should, convenience, may grow, or come by any meanes of this present act, that then Lieutenant the lord deputie, the lord chauncellour, the lord treasorer, the or Lord vice-treasorer, the three chiefe judges, and the master of the Chancellor rolls, of this land for the time being, or five of them at the this act by least, whereof the lord deputie and lord chauncellour to be two proclamaof them, examining the circumstance of the same, shall have authority and power, by open proclamation to be made in any of the said markets or fayres, to discharge, adnihilate, and make voyde this present act, or such part thereof as they shall thinke good and this present act, from and after the said proclamation, so to be had and made, or as much thereof as they shall thinke good as aforesaid, shall be cleerly and utterly voyde and of none effect.

:

3. That the justices of the King's Bench, and every justice Offenders, how punish. of peace in open sessions, shall have full power and authoritie, able. by authoritie of this act, to enquire of and upon the offendors, and offences against the contents and purport of this said act and order, and to heare and determine the same, according to the lawes of this land, and to punish the said offendors, and to taxe like fines upon the same offendors, as though they were convicted of any forestalling of the king's markets, by the lawes of this land.

tanners.

5. Provided alway, that this act, ne any thing therein con- Act not to teyned, shall extend to any tanner or barker within this realm, extend to for the buying of any hides to be tanned or barked, so that they doe tanne or barke the same.

proclama

6. Provided also, that this act, ne any thing therein con- This act not teyned, shall not extend to binde or charge any of the inhabi- to bind until tants of any county, citie, or borough towne, within this realme tion. or land, unto such time as the tenour of this said act be proclaimed in the same county, citie, or borough towne.

corn at mar

8 Edw. 4, c. 2. (a)—Whereas, diverse persons, having them- No person selves great abundance of all maner of corn, have used to buy in the shall buy common market great store of corn to granell up the same to sell upon a dearth; and also divers other persons called badgers, have used to goe to one market, and have bought great store of

(a) Entitled "An act against ingrossers and regrators of corn."

ket, having already a suf

ficient store; nor shall

at market be sold in the same or

ket.

8 Ed. 4, c. 2. wheat and corne at one price, and shortly after have taken the same corne unto another market, and have there sold at a more corn bought deer price by twopence or fourpence in the bushell, which hath been the greatest means of dearth within this land, to the great intolerable hurt of the poor inhabitants of this land of Ireland: other mar- Therefore it is ordained and established, by authority of the said parliament, that no man, having sufficient store of corn of his own, shall buy any maner of corne in the common market, nor that no other person or persons called badgers, shall buy any maner of corne in the form aforesaid, upon such payn as is made against the regrators of the king's market; and they, and every one of them, to be judged in the law as common regrators of the market. Also, that it shall not be lawfull to no man, of what condition soever he be, which will buy any maner of corne in the common market, to sell the same againe in the same market, nor in no other market, upon payn to be adjudged in law as a common regrator of the market.

is kept,

23 & 24 Geo. 3, c. 20, s. 1.—Whereas every attempt to obstruct by violence the freedom of the export of corn, grain, meal, malt, flour, bread, biscuit, and potatoes, or the free passage thereof from one part of the kingdom to another, either by land or by water, is not only a daring violation of law, but must injure agriculture, and be in the end productive of dearth Riotously and famine: be it &c., that if any persons unlawfully, riotously, destroying and tumultuously assembled together, shall, at any time after any place where corn the passing of this act, wilfully and maliciously pull down, demolish, set fire to, or destroy, or shall begin to pull down, demolish, set fire to, or destroy any storehouse, mill, granary, corn-stack, or other place where corn, grain, meal, malt, flour, or entering or potatoes are usually stored or kept for exportation or sale, such place, or shall unlawfully enter or break into, or unlawfully attempt to or taking or spoiling the enter or break into any such storehouse, mill, granary, or other corn therein, place, or take, carry away, throw abroad, or spoil, or attempt or entering by force to take, carry away, throw abroad, or spoil, any corn, any ship and taking or in. meal, malt, flour, or potatoes, which shall be stored or kept juring the therein, or shall unlawfully enter on board any ship, vessel, or boat, wherein any corn, grain, meal, malt, flour, or potatoes shall ging of such be laden, and wilfully take, carry away, cast overboard, destroy, ship, or damage any of the said articles laden therein, or wilfully out, injure, spoil, or take away the said ship, vessel, or boat, or the rigging, furniture, tackle, or rudder thereof, or any part of such ship, vessel, or boat, rigging, furniture, or tackle, or ing of corn unlawfully, wilfully, and by force obstruct or prevent, or endeaon board any ship, or pre- vour to obstruct or prevent, the loading or laying any of the venting a said articles on board any ship, vessel, or boat, or shall unlawship so laden from sailing, fully, wilfully, and by force prevent, or endeavour to prevent any ship, vessel, or boat laden therewith, or in which any of or stopping said articles shall be laden, from sailing, or shall unlawfully, any horse or wilfully, and knowingly, and by force stop, seize, detain, take, or drive away any horse, car, cart, carriage, or boat loaden with

corn therein, or the rig

or obstruct

ing the load.

cart laden

with corn,

e. 20.

any of the said articles, on the way to or from any mill, store, 23 & 24 G. 3, granary, or market, seaport, or place of shipping, with a view or intent to prevent the corn, grain, meal, malt, flour, bread, biscuit, or potatoes therein, or loaden thereon, or any part thereof, from being taken to the house, vessel, storehouse, place, or person to which it was intended to be carried, or shall wilfully kill or maim any horse or horses, or other beast or injuring the horse, or beasts laden therewith, or shall wilfully and forcibly cut, sacks, &c., or otherwise break or destroy any of the sacks, or scatter or throw abroad any of the aforesaid articles, wherewith such car, cart, carriage, horse, or boat is or shall be laden, or take away, or distribute, or compel the owner, driver, or conducter thereof to distribute, sell, or otherwise dispose of any such or taking article wherewith such car, cart, carriage, boat, horse, or other away, or compelling beast is laden, or any part thereof, or shall wilfully destroy the owner any weir, sluice, milldam, drain, or outwork belonging or apper- to distribute taining to any mill; every such person so offending in any of or breaking the said matters, and all persons unlawfully, riotously, or tu- any milldam multuously assembled, who shall aid or assist in the commit- or sluice, ment, or the attempting to commit any of the said offences, being thereof lawfully convicted, shall be adjudged felons, and Felony, suffer death as in the case of felony without benefit of clergy(a).

his corn,

death.

11 Eliz., sess. 3, c. 4 (a).-Forasmuch as great hurt and hindrance doth daily grow, to the queen's majestie's subjects, within this realm, by reason that the inhabitants of diverse cities and townes within this same, adjoyning neere to rivers, that doth ebb and flow, wherein the frye of salmon, ele, and other commodious fishes are bred and nourished, doth keep herds and number of swine, and also doth use, at the ebb or low water, to suffer their said swine to feed upon the strands of the said rivers, where they destroy great quantitie of salmon and ele frye, and frye of spawne of divers other good fishes; to the great hurt and hindrance of fishing, and to the great hindrance and damage of the commonwealth: be it enacted, that, From 1st of from the firste day of March to the last day of September March till end of Sepyearly, no person nor persons, by himselfe, or by his or their tember, appointment, shall drive or put any swine, hogge, or pigge, swine shall upon any strand of any river or rivers within this realm, to lowed to be fed or pastured thereupon, in any place where the sea doth feed upon ebbe or flow within the said river or rivers, nor in any other the sea shore, place or places where the sea doth usually ebbe and flow; nor that no person or persons doth permit or suffer their said swine

(a) To warrant a conviction under this act, the outrage complained of must have been committed, with a view to the mischief which the preamble recites, it was the object of the act to prevent. Mitchell v. Blake, 1 Hud. and Bro. 195.

(2) Entitled "An act for the preservation of salmon frie and ele frie."

not be al